Capella de la Torre is a group of musicians who have made a name for themselves as specialists in historical performance practice. The ensemble's aim is to give listeners an immediate experience of the rich and hitherto neglected repertoire of mediaeval and renaissance music by performing it to a professional standard.

The name "de la Torre" has a double meaning. In the first place, it pays homage to the Spanish composer Francisco de la Torre, who wrote his "Danza Alta" at the beginning of the 16th century. This is probably the most famous piece for what was then known as "capella alta", an ensemble of wind instruments such as shawms,  dulcians, sackbuts and cornetti. Capella de la Torre has specialized in music written for the "capella alta". Secondly, the name may be taken in a literal sense: "de la Torre" means "from the tower" and groups of wind players (Spanish: ministriles) often played on towers or balconies at festivals and other official occasions. "Torres de los Ministriles" are still to be found in many Spanish towns today.
Capella de la Torre does not confine itself to Spanish music, however, but also plays music written throughout the rest of Europe for the "hauts instruments" or "loud instruments". In general, it tries to breathe life into the old traditions of "ministriles", "piffari" and "Stadtpfeiffer".
In the music world of today there are very few ensembles centred around historical  double-reed instruments. This is particularly so in Germany.

References:

Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik (A)
Laus Polyphoniae (B)
Zeitfenster - Biennale der Alten Musik (D)
Musique et Mémoire (F)

Katharina Bäuml

Born in Munich, Germany, Katharina studied modern oboe in the Conservartories of Hannover with Klaus Becker, Hamburg with Rainer Herweg and Mannheim with Winfried Liebermann graduating with 1st Class Honours. She has performed as oboe soloist in the “Gustav Mahler Orchestra” and has tought oboe at the School of Music of Hamburg.
In Hamburg she also elaborated her musical skills by studying historical woodwind instruments with Renate Hildebrand at the Hamburg Conservatory, finished her studies with the Diploma with 1st Class Honours. For further widening her expertise of historical oboes and shawms she then studied with Katharina Arfken at the “Schola Cantorum”, Basel and has participated in master classes with Ku Ebbinge, Alfredo Bernardini, Paul Dombrecht and Bruce Haynes.  Katharina has worked with Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Gottfried von der Goltz, Andrea Marcon, Carles Magraner, Marc Minkowski, Michael Schoenheit y Ludger Remy and has performed with  Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Barockorchester L´Arco, L´Arpa Festante, Musica Fiata, Dresdner Instrumentalconcert, Capella de Ministrers, Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla and Ministriles de Marsias.
In 2005 Katharina has founded the ensemble “Capella de la Torre”, which is dedicated to the music of the 15th and 16th centuries especially for double reed instruments.
Katharina has appeared in various  recordings of CDs and radio broadcastings, e.g. for Radio France, MDR, NDR and WDR. She has given master classes of medieval and renaissance music at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and is currently living in Braunschweig, Germany, where she also teaches oboe and shawm.